Part 14 (1/2)
Again the dealer cast a sharp glance at Penny.
”Haven't I seen you in here before?” he asked.
Penny shook her head. ”No, this is the first time I ever came into your store.”
”I've seen you somewhere,” the man muttered. ”Now, I know! You're Christopher Nichols' daughter!” He p.r.o.nounced the name of the detective with a slight sneer.
”Yes, I am,” Penny acknowledged reluctantly. ”But I'm sure I've never seen you before.”
”That's quite likely.”
”Then how did you know me?”
”That's my business,” the dealer retorted shortly. ”I am sorry, but I can't do business with you. Good day.”
Penny stood her ground.
”Haven't you any tires for sale?”
”Not for you, I haven't. You're a snooper just like your father! Get out of here!”
Penny would have carried the argument further, but Susan tugged at her sleeve. They hastily left the shop. As they drove away, they saw the dealer standing at the plate gla.s.s window, watching.
”Such a horrible man!” Susan gasped. ”I was actually afraid of him.
What made him act like that?”
”I think he must have guessed why we came,” Penny told her. ”As a sleuth I seem to be a walking advertis.e.m.e.nt of my calling!”
”He recognized you the minute you stepped into the store. Didn't that strike you as queer?”
”Yes, it did, Susan. I'm almost certain that man is dealing in stolen tires. He's probably afraid of the law. It's to his advantage to recognize plain clothesmen and persons who might cause him trouble, I imagine I've been seen with my father.”
”I should think the police could arrest him.”
”It isn't as easy as one might believe, Susan. If a fence is caught with stolen merchandise he claims to have purchased it in good faith.
Actually he has taken it off the hands of some thief. An arrest is hard to make.”
”Then there's nothing we can do?”
”I don't know. I'll ask Father when he comes home tonight.”
”I think a fence is even more contemptible than a thief,” Susan said scornfully. ”I'd give anything if I hadn't bought that tire.”
”I'm glad you did,” Penny smiled, ”for the clue we gained may prove useful to Father.”
The girls were relieved when they reached the end of South Lake and turned into a more pleasant street. Driving toward their homes they relapsed into a long silence, each absorbed in her own thoughts. There were occasions when the two friends talked frantically for hours.
There were other times when they would speak scarcely a word, yet enjoy perfect understanding.